PR Trends to Prepare for in 2019

It’s hard to believe, but 2019 is just two weeks away. Planning for 2019 has begun in earnest, with brands and agencies putting together their plans for the short- and long-term.

Now more than ever, it’s essential for PR practitioners to stay up to date with how the industry is changing, so as to ensure that 2019 doesn’t bring any unwanted surprises! To lend a helping hand during the season for giving, we’ve put together a few of the key trends that you should keep top of mind heading into 2019.

User-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) has gathered significant momentum over the last few years and will continue to drive brand advertising and awareness in 2019. As venture capitalist John Doerr once said, “the next wave of the web is going to be user-generated content”.

This form of content has largely taken off thanks to unpaid contributors and brand communities. UGC can take the form of anything from pictures and videos to reviews, tweets and memes. How you harness this content is what will make all the difference in 2019.

A prime example of UGC is Coca-Cola’s ‘Share a Coke’ campaign. This inspired a craze among consumers, who felt almost obligated to search for bottles with their names on them before purchasing and posting about their “branded” Coke bottle on social media. This campaign allowed customers to assume the role of advertiser and has proved highly successful.

Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to promote a brand. Consumers are more likely to believe the word of their fellow consumers than the actual brand. Therefore, it is imperative to be authentic by encouraging user-generated content and involving customers in the advertising process, allowing brand awareness and recognition to spread organically.

Digital storytelling

Storytelling has been a focal point of successful marketing strategies for decades and is enjoying a new lease of life in the digital age.

Telling a powerful story creates brand loyalty as the narrative appeals to consumers on an emotional level. Thanks to the ubiquity of social media, businesses not only have an unprecedented amount of control over how they present their brand’s story, they can also broadcast this story to a global audience.

Whether it’s feeding into an already existing narrative or creating your own story, by tuning into your audience and connecting with them on an emotional level, you’re guaranteed audience success.

Influencer marketing

In recent years there has been a considerable shift from traditional forms of advertising such as TV and print to social media platforms. Alongside this we have seen the emergence of influencer marketing, which can now lay claim to being one of the top advertising channels.

Working with influencers is a great way of expanding your brand’s reach and building a trusted reputation. After all, consumers are receiving a personal recommendation about your brand from an influencer they admire. The era of the influencer has moved from a fad to a concrete method of building brand awareness and it appears to be going from strength to strength with no sign of slowing down.

It’s important to align your brand with an influencer who has access to your target demographic. It is also imperative to ensure that the narrative the brand creates is aligned with that of the influencer, as endorsing a genuine and authentic product to their followers is far more likely to yield a successful collaboration.